Ingula

COMPANY PROFILE

2014

Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme

www.eskom.co.za

company profile

Beyond the peaks Editorial: Colin Chinery Production: Emily Woodhall

South Africa’s energy demands continue to outpace the rise in generating capacity. But a R26 billion Eskom project nearing completion is set to redress peaks and lows imbalances in demand and supply.

High up in the Drakensberg Mountains on the border between the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal a short span of plateau is answering to a long-time national predicament.

For South Africa the margin between electricity supply and peak demand has been perilously thin since 2008. At best a recurring inconvenience; for a developing nation dependent on energy-intensive industries such as mining, critical and unsustainable.

But here within the Drakensberg range near Ladysmith, and four and half km apart, the Bramhoek and Bedford Dams are being linked in a R26 billion Eskom project to help balance supply and demand.

Six years under construction and expected to go live in

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the second half of next year, the Ingula storage programme will pump water up from the Bramhoek to the Bedford dam during off-peak hours, an elevation of 470m.

During peak demand water will be released from the top dam and pass through underground waterways into the lower - each with a water capacity of 22-million cubic metres – and generating electricity. During times of low energy demand, the four turbines will pump the water back again. The scheme has an installed capacity of 1333 MW (4 x 333 MW).

“Pump storage is a system that allows us to balance demand and supply,” says Colin Logan, Project Manager and Chief Supervisor for Gibb Engineering and Science South Africa, one of the companies in the Ingula consortium.

Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme

BASE LOAD BASICS “In South Africa we are very dependent on our base load being coal-fired. But coal-fired power stations are not particularly responsive in terms of flicking a button to suddenly generate more energy, or dropping output by flicking it off.

“So to run the system more efficiently we try to operate those below the peaks at a base load level. And when there’s surplus energy in the system we use it to pump water and store it in the form of potential energy in an upper reservoir, and in peak times release water through the system to generate power.”

Operating since 1956, Johannesburg headquartered Gibb is a leading multi-disciplinary engineering consulting

firm with a portfolio of complex projects in engineering disciplines across many African countries.

When completed Ingula will be the biggest pumped storage scheme in South Africa and one of the biggest in the world, its 1333 MW output 30 per cent higher than Eskom’s next biggest.

The construction details are correspondingly impressive; a power station the underground equivalent of a 20 storey building, 8.28km of waterways lined by 15,000 tons of steel, 2.5 million tons of aggregate quarried, and three million tons of rock excavated for the 16.07 km of tunnels.

At 187m long, 26m wide and 54m high, the cavern housing the four generating units is said to be the largest in this type of rock anywhere in the world.

And within the cavern and spanning its width are two

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company profile 265 ton, 480-ton lift capacity cranes among the biggest in Africa, raising and lowering equipment into the generator

Looking ahead to the future energy needs and mix in South Africa, I strongly believe there’s a huge future for pump storage.” and turbine pits.

Unsurprisingly, tunnelling and underground work are major issues. “Underground work - driving an incline shaft for instance - is always a challenge.

“There are contractors that will waive the work because of the risks attached to it and just a few elite companies out there that can do it successfully and viably,” says Mr Logan,

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who joined the project at the outset as a young engineer focussing on design.

Now overseeing the final stages of commissioning, he heads a team of 110 engineers drawn from three local consulting firms and seven international consultants.

“From a design perspective, things were put forward somewhat conservatively and the geological and tunnelling conditions were far better than anticipated - and I think we have proven this to be the case all the way through.”

But multi-participant collaboration on schemes of this scale is not always seamless. “It’s an environment in which you are mandated to do a specific job. We would have liked to have had a more synergistic approach, and in the case of interaction or changes to the original contract and trying to agree on a way forward, we have been faced with large contractual battles.

“But this is a commercial environment we are operating in, and any changes have to be met with a commercial process which is strongly fought by the parties. Even so the project is moving ahead and the work is of a very high standard. We are very satisfied.”

Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme

WHERE TO IN ENERGY MIX? With advocates of coal and nuclear pressing their case, where is Ingula positioned in South Africa’s future energy mix?

“I’d like to think that it’s not one or the other. Nuclear powers and coal are base load generators supplying a constant load throughout the day, which means at various times a surplus or deficit supply. The issue is how you successfully meet those peak periods.

“As the overall energy demand increases you would expect those peaks also to increase - in which case you would introduce pumped storage schemes into the system.

“There’s always going to be a need for peaking power, and

storage and pumped storage accomplishes this very well in terms of a more balanced generating fleet.

“There are other technologies of course, and in South Africa we have open cycle gas turbines. But it’s a very expensive way of generating peak power, to be used as a very last resort and a back up to the system.”

But while South Africa’s need for schemes of this kind is clear, Colin Logan says the immediate potential for southern Africa as a whole is limited, a conclusion re-enforced by a study on the energy needs for the SADC nations in which he took part.

“The emphasis in these countries is still on increasing base load supply, and so storage schemes of this magnitude

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company profile are unnecessary. We certainly do not believe there would be a return at this stage.

“But while there’s no need in the short term, looking at the medium to long term that need will be there. We see this developing beyond 2030, but bearing in mind these projects take 10 or so years to develop, you will need to be getting these schemes off the ground in 2015-2020. And that’s not that far off.

“However, the South African power pool is obviously large enough in terms of generation mix to support pumped storage technology. And as base level supply increases, the need for technologies like this will be significant.

FACE THE UNCERTAINTIES “We are a water resource scarce country and don’t have huge river systems that can support peaking power unlike Nigeria for instance, an economic hub with great potential.

“Around 40 per cent of the new generating capacity in South Africa is developed around other renewable technologies wind and solar - and with these you introduce a lot of variability into the system. And so there are a lot of uncertainties about how reliable these energy sources will be.

“But pumped storage can provide support by continuously generating and pumping to balance the effects of that variability. Looking ahead to the future energy needs and mix in South Africa, I strongly believe there is still a future for pumped storage.”

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“So to run the system efficiently we try to operate those below the peaks at a base load level. And when there’s surplus energy in the system we use it to pump water and store it in the form of potential energy in an upper reservoir, and in peak times release water through the system to generate power”

Partnerships, People and Projects Knight Piésold (Pty) Ltd has expanded across the globe since its inception in South Africa in 1921, in response to a demand for engineering services and infrastructural development. We have a global team of over 800 professionals who deliver specialized services and innovative solutions that respect social, environmental and economic responsibilities.

Knight Piésold focuses on building close working relationships with its clients through a thorough understanding of their project requirements and their business in today’s global environment. Integrated efforts in all disciplines, with back-up from specialists on all five continents if necessary, enable the company to provide innovative expertise and the maximum investment value to clients.

Knight Piésold has a strong presence in the African market. With offices in five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, namely South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland, and also more recently Zambia, Knight Piésold is able to efficiently service its clients on the African continent. Project experience extends as far Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Lesotho, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mali and Zambia. We operate in a wide range of African environments from urban to rural, and therefore have the skills and capabilities to ensure that a project is completed successfully irrespective of the setting. Our principle of “Local knowledge, Global expertise” also helps to ensures that every project is a success through an understanding of local practices.

At Knight Piésold we recognise that it is the strength of our staff and their dedication to our clients that determine the success of the company. By offering an exciting and rewarding work environment where our employees are encouraged to excel, reach their full potential and fulfil their career aspirations, Knight Piésold attracts and retains some of the top professionals in the industry, who have the knowledge and expertise to ensure that projects are delivered timeously and within budget.

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Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme

Local knowledge, Global expertise Knight Piesold (Pty) Ltd offers a comprehensive range of consulting engineering, environmental and project management services to the mining, water, power and transportation sectors, complemented by extensive structural, hydro-geological, geotechnical and GIS expertise.

HEAD OFFICE 4 De La Rey Road Rivonia 2128 Tel: +27 11 806 7111 Fax: +27 11 806 7100 E-mail: rivonia@knightpiesold.com www.knightpiesold.com South Africa I Botswana I Namibia I Swaziland I Zambia

Knight Piésold is actively engaged in hydropower development projects throughout the world, including North and South America, Europe, Africa and South East Africa, taking a lead in identifying and developing concepts for power generation projects that are considered “Green” on account of their environmentally benign attributes.

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